Zara Arshad’s Notable Books of 2012
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Assistant Professor of Digital Media at School of Literature, Communication, and Culture, Georgia Institute of Technology, Carl DiSalvo explores how design practice can be extended beyond usability and tangible objects, viewing the combination of interactive technology and design thinking as a means of political discourse. Both inspiring and provocative, the ideas brought forth in this new publication reveal the true potential of design and how critical practice can be used to address challenging issues in politics, society and beyond.
Asia-Pacific Design (better known as APD) is an annual publication by Guangzhou-based Sandu Cultural Media Co. Ltd and Design 360°: Concept and Design Magazine. Conceived in 2005, it has become well known for representing and promoting outstanding works by graphic designers throughout the entire Asia-Pacific region. Any publication that relies heavily on submissions is always susceptible to misrepresenting; however, APD filters and curates honestly, offering a charming and sincere visual account of Asia’s rising graphic design industry.
Informed by extensive firsthand experience, former Director of the School of Design at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Lorraine Justice, dissects the state of Chinese design, from the influence of history and politics to cultural paradoxes. One of the very few (English) releases that handles the topic in a sensitive yet timely manner, this is a must-read for those wishing to grasp a basic understanding of the Chinese design industry.
Serpentine Gallery, London figurehead Hans Ulrich Obrist interviews over 100 China-based creatives on their thoughts about the future; valuable “not for what it predicts about the future, but for what it tells us about the moment during which it was assembled.” Contributions from both established and rising stars such as Ai Weiwei, Ma Yansong, Jia Zhangke, Chen Man, Masha Ma, Wang Shu, and Zhu Pei.
The world’s first—and probably most iconic—underground railway celebrates 150 years in 2013. This new, official publication captures the story of its creation, blending social history with “the story of the pioneering engineers, designers and social reformers who created the system, reflecting on the problems of keeping a fast-growing city on the move.” A fascinating insight into the evolution of not just the London Underground and its identity, but also of the character of London itself.
Announcements
If Walls Could Speak: My Life in Architecture by Moshe Safdie
If Walls Could Speak: My Life in Architecture
By Moshe Safdie
Publisher: Grove/Atlantic
Published: September 2022
One of the world’s greatest and most thoughtful architects recounts his extraordinary career and the iconic structures he has built—from Habitat in Montreal to Marina Bay Sands in Singapore—and offers a manifesto for the role architecture should play in society.
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Design Emergency: Building a Better Future by Alice Rawsthorn and Paola Antonelli
Design Emergency: Building a Better Future
By Alice Rawsthorn and Paola Antonelli
Publisher: Phaidon Press
Published: May 2022
Rawsthorn and Antonelli tell the stories of the remarkable designers, architects, engineers, artists, scientists, and activists who are at the forefront of positive change worldwide. Focusing on four themes—Technology, Society, Communication, and Ecology—the authors present a unique portrait of how our great creative minds are developing new design solutions to the major challenges of our time, while helping us to benefit from advances in science and technology.
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Why Design Matters: Conversations with the World’s Most Creative People by Debbie Millman
Why Design Matters: Conversations with the World's Most Creative People
By Debbie Millman
Publisher: Harper Design
Published: February 22, 2022
Debbie Millman—author, educator, brand consultant, and host of the widely successful and award-winning podcast “Design Matters”—showcases dozens of her most exciting interviews, bringing together insights and reflections from today’s leading creative minds from across diverse fields.
Milton Glaser: POP: by Steven Heller, Mirko Ilić, and Beth Kleber
Milton Glaser: POP
By Steven Heller, Mirko Ilić, and Beth Kleber
Publisher: The Monacelli Press
Published: March 2023
This collection of work from graphci design legend Milton Glaser’s Pop period features hundreds of examples of the designer’s work that have not been seen since their original publication, demonstrating the graphic revolution that transformed design and popular culture.
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Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall by Alexandra Lange
Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall
By Alexandra Lange
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Published: June 2022
Chronicles postwar architects’ and merchants’ invention of the shopping mall, revealing how the design of these marketplaces played an integral role in their cultural ascent. Publishers Weekly writes, “Contending that malls answer ‘the basic human need’ of bringing people together, influential design critic Lange advocates for retrofitting abandoned shopping centers into college campuses, senior housing, and ‘ethnocentric marketplaces’ catering to immigrant communities. Lucid and well researched, this is an insightful study of an overlooked and undervalued architectural form.”
Women Holding Things by Maira Kalman
Women Holding Things
By Maira Kalman
Publisher: Harper Design
Published: October 2022
In the spring of 2021, Maira and Alex Kalman created a small, limited-edition booklet, “Women Holding Things,” which featured select recent paintings by Maira, accompanied by her insightful and deeply personal commentary. The booklet quickly sold out. Now, the Kalmans have expanded that original publication into an extraordinary visual compendium. We see a woman hold a book, hold shears, hold children, hold a grudge, hold up, hold her own. In visually telling their stories, Kalman lays bare the essence of women’s lives—their tenacity, courage, vulnerability, hope, and pain.
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